Public Hearing at the European Commission on Personal Pensions

Finance Watch’s Head of Public Affairs, Joost Mulder, spoke on a panel at the European Commission's “Public Hearing on Personal Pensions: towards a pan-European pension product?”, 24 October 2016 in Brussels.

Joost Mulder said that, if the Commission goes ahead with its proposal for a Pan-European Personal Pension product, or PEPP, the products should be simple, clearly documented, low-risk and low-cost.

There should be clear product rules, a key information document, and comprehension alerts to guide consumers away from more complex products, as well as full disclosure about the products contribution to environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

Joost noted that mistakes in pensions are costly for society in the long run because individuals have to fall back on social welfare, and that the provision of Pillar I (social security) pensions should not be weakened as a result of improvements in Pillar III (private) pensions.

The programme for the event can be downloaded from the Commission’s event page.